Fig and goats cheese vol au vents

Maybe it’s because I wasn’t around for their orange-tinted heyday that I have a soft spot for a bite-size foods. Or it could be that they leave your other hand free for a drink. The actual reason I like canapés? There’s a lot of scope for using cheese, in more ways than you could with one of those cheese boards that only feature as many varieties as cheese knives in that long-abandoned box (four).

It’s the tooth-squeak of a grilled halloumi skewer. The tongue-tingle of a good quality cheddar paired with pineapple. The nutty quality of an aged Comté. The soft ooze of burrata. If it came to it, I could give up steak, or bread, or pasta. Just don’t torture me, alone(y) without torta mascarpone.*

The cheese of the hour is goats cheese. To some people, it tastes “like a farm”. (When and why and where have all these people been licking barnyards?) But truly, it delivers an unbeatable tang that sits so wonderfully alongside sweet fruits and honey. Here, a soft goats cheese nestles with lightly honeyed caramelised onions and jammy fig to make a vol au vent that’s very much for the modern age.

*sorrynotsorry. Side note: if you ever see torta mascarpone, grab it while you can, for it is a rare and beautiful thing.

Preheat the oven to 170C and liberally flour your worktop. Roll out the pastry to around 6mm thick. Cut out circles with a 6cm cutter, then use a 4cm cutter (or the top end of a piping nozzle!) to mark out an inner circle, without going through the pastry. Prick the inside of the inner circle through with a fork a few times.

Blow any excess flour of the tops, and egg wash the outer circle of each vol au vent, and bake for around 15 minutes, until risen and golden.* Cool on a wire rack.

While the cases bake and cool, caramelise the onions in a large pan, in a knob of butter over a low-medium heat. Stir every 5 minutes or so, until a deep golden brown, which will take around 30-40 minutes.** Mix in 1/2 – 1 tsp of honey, to taste, and set aside to cool.

When the cases and onions are cool, use a small sharp knife to cut the inner circle of each vol au vent out, digging out a little of the pastry inside to make some room for the fillings.

Use a small spoon to half-fill each vol au vent with caramelised onion, and top with a cube of fig and goats cheese, so they’re having a little cuddle. Serve the same day – if preparing in advance and refrigerating, allow them to return to room temperature before serving.

Notes: *Some might lean to the side like the Tower of Pisa. These ones are good for nibbling on while you work. **There’s a great slideshow of the colours to expect when caramelising onions here.

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The lady behind The Dinner Bell! I'm that person who doesn't let you leave their flat without eating something, and will probably press a parcel of cookies or cake into your hands as you head to the door.
I’m a sub-editor by day, avid book-reader by night, and octopus fan always. I've returned to Norfolk after eight years away, but little bits of my heart still belong to London, where I lived for almost fives years, and Sheffield, where I went to uni and finally lost my bumpkin accent.

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Hello there! I'm Hannah - welcome to The Dinner Bell. This here slice of the internet is dedicated to seasonal eating, particularly in the UK, with info on what to get when and a plethora of recipes to go with it. It's about food for normal people and ingredients you can get easily.

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